26
by Kit Lupin
Summary: 26 sentences, 2 for each of the Akuma no Riddle main characters. Tokaku/Haru, Chitaru/Hitsugi, Isuke/Haruki. (Warning for mention of blood and of attempted suicide.) There is noncanonical material contained in this work. Part 1: Yesterday- set before and during Black Class. Part 2: Tomorrow- set after Black Class.
1. yesterday

26 -yesterday-

by Kit Lupin

Author's Note: This is the first in a two-part collection of 26 sentences about the 13 main characters of Akuma no Riddle. There will be events referenced that deviate from or are not mentioned in canon. Akuma no Riddle belongs to Yun Kouga. Please enjoy.

_**Tokaku- Death**_

Tokaku did not fear her own death, but when Haru was in danger, a strange feeling welled up inside of her, and if she was to describe it in words, she would call it absolute terror.

**_Haru- Mirror_**

When Haru first laid eyes upon Tokaku, that evening, she saw in those blue eyes a mirror to her own heart.

**_Otoya- Piranha_**

Otoya used to be afraid of blood, until her first taste; now, just the scent excited her, to the point where she wondered whether or not she wasn't more like a piranha than a spider.

**_Kouko- Tomorrow_**

She would never admit it, but seeing that American movie in any of its adaptations always made Kouko think the sun really would come out tomorrow.

**_Haruki- Hidden_**

Suicide was not unusual for the poor- Haruki still had the marks from her last attempt, hidden carefully behind bracelets and gloves and foundation, and she would never let Isuke-sama see them.

**_Shiena- Masks_**

Bullies always wore masks, Shiena thought to herself as Hitsugi poisoned her; masks that you couldn't see behind until it was too late.

**_Hitsugi- Empyrean_**

In Dante's Divine Comedy, the Empyrean was the highest place in Heaven, where God's divine love filled everything; Hitsugi believed that surely, her beloved Chitaru was destined for the Empyrean when her time on His green earth was over.

**_Chitaru- Malebolge_**

In Dante's Divine Comedy, sinners guilty of fraud were punished in the circle of Hell called the Malebolge, or so Chitaru had read; she wondered if Hitsugi, who liked to read, knew that as well.

**_Suzu- Idol_**

Suzu had tried being an idol once, a decade ago, to ease the pain of her loss; her hit single "Suzukaze" was still played by J-pop fans across the globe, and it gave Suzu some small comfort to know that there were people who could relate to her sorrows.

_**Banba- TV**_

"Kawashita yakusoku wasurenai yo..." the TV blares, playing _Madoka Magica_ again, and even if Shin'ya isn't big on the show, Mahiru finds a sort of comfort in that world where that girl who looks so much like Haru can create hope for others like Haru did for her.

**_Isuke- Attention_**

Of all the things Isuke knew about herself, the foremost was that she craved the attention of others, and would do whatever it took to escape being locked back in the cage of silence and neglect.

**_Sumireko- Frail_**

Sumireko's cybernetically-enhanced body may have been strong, but her emotions and her heart were just as frail as the lies about her health.

_**Nio- Magic**_

Nio hated fantasy novels, with their nonsensical depictions of magic as a positive force; it was strictly for the creation of pain and confusion, or so the Kuzunoha family had told her (and they were right).


	2. tomorrow

26 -tomorrow-

by Kit Lupin

**_Tokaku- Answer_**

Tokaku didn't need to answer Kaiba's riddles to figure herself out any longer; she could do it with a smile and find out the truth on her own.

_**Haru- Singing**_

Haru's voice sang as she and Mizorogi-sensei performed a duet of the Myoujou Academy school song, and her heart sang as she met Tokaku outside Myoujou's gates.

_**Otoya- Jail**_

Even though she'd hum "just have to wait" to herself, Otoya knew that there were only two possibilities for herself at this point, neither of which she was particularly keen on: the death penalty, or a life in jail.

**_Kouko- Journey_**

As Kouko gunned down the Clover Home assassins chasing after her, she knew that this was only the beginning of her journey to redemption, and she was fine with that.

_**Haruki- Smartphone**_

When Haruki got enough money for it from her job as a construction worker, she bought the best smartphone she could afford, and now, every day on her lunch break, she used it to call the people she loved- her mother, her siblings, and Isuke-sama.

_**Shiena- Vendetta**_

By all accounts, Shiena was a creature driven by revenge, and her vendetta against those who hurt others had extended to Myoujou Academy: if she couldn't achieve Collective Dismissal's goal and take revenge on her bullies through Class Black, she'd reveal the truth of the dark class and reap the rewards.

_**Hitsugi- Hospital**_

When she was in full swing as Angel's Trumpet, Hitsugi had hated hospitals, the places where targets were sometimes able to recover and where the judgment of whether she had failed her missions or not was passed; now that a hospital had saved Chitaru's life and let her beloved prince live on, she didn't hate them one bit.

_**Chitaru- Destination**_

As Chitaru convalesced in the hospital, she came to a decision about Hitsugi: the road to forgiving her would not be a short one to travel, but one way or another, they would reach that destination.

**_Suzu- Continue_**

To grow old and die like everyone welse was still Suzu's greatest wish, but for the sake of the person she used to love and still loved, she would continue with a smile on her face for as long as it took, even if she had to wait until the end of time.

**_Banba- Happy_**

As Shin'ya Banba faded from existence, her final thought was one of pleasure, that even after all the pain, all the fear, Mahiru was happy, and that was all she needed to know as she departed for lands unknown to the earthly sphere.

**_Isuke- Family_**

After the gloomy atmosphere of Myoujou and the cold, clinical mien of the hospital where she had recovered from her final battle with Tokaku, Isuke was glad to be on a vacation in the Caribbean with her warm, kind, and happy family.

**_Sumireko- Cooking_**

Cooking was a new experience for Sumireko, but after a disastrous experience in which the wires of her limbs were nearly shorted out and an absolutely delicious apple souffle was created, the heir to the Hanabusa corporation decided that she enjoyed the experience immensely.

_**Nio- Fantasy**_

After she saw the truth of Tokaku and Haru, and how their hearts were laid bare to one another, Nio decided that she'd take another look at the works of Tolkien and Rowling; she was in the mood for some fantasy novels.


End file.
